I started Saturday 12th May on a train from London Waterloo to Portsmouth, I’d just played
Propaganda London with
Russ from
Bloc Party and
DJ Dan. It was a spectacular night.
On my journey south I was blissfully made aware that an impromptu guerrilla gig was to take place in local Southsea shop Dresscode, where
ClubNME headliners
The Sheepdogs and locals
Huw Olesker & The Barebackers were to play.
Fair to say anything impromptu takes a bit of work and effort, pulling numerous strings and a hell of a lot of patience the
ClubNME Portsmouth team brought it together and packed out the tiny shop, all of whom attended then taking to social networks to praise and urge all to
The Wedgewood Rooms for
The Sheepdogs performance that very evening.
Previous
ClubNME Portsmouth shows have seen Australian beach pop
Bleeding Knees Club, NME lauded
Cerebral Ballzy, album chart topping
King Charles and indie upstarts
TOWNS take to
The Wedgewood rooms stage alongside a multitude of local talent to boot which has included
Melodramas, Clayton Strange, The Planes and Curxes. With DJ’s poised, doors opened and we began to fill.
First act on the nights bill are indie-electro outfit
Kassassin Street, with a recent EP release in motion they plough into their set headfirst. EP opener ‘
Finger On The Pulse’ is a build hit, vocal harmonies ensue around a smattering of electronic vibes and some of the best guitar work I’ve seen locally for a long while.
Kassassin Street bring 90’s indie to the modern day with their own edge, a set which is both pleasing to the eye and ear.
The nights headlines were Saskatoon, Saskachewans (That’s in Canada)
The Sheepdogs. A band heavily praised by
Kings Of Leon front man
Caleb Followill, A band who are in history the only unsigned band to grace the front cover of Rolling Stone magazine and a band who in the previous few days had played at a venue called Sticky Mikes, which in fact lived up to it’s name.
Draped in late 60s vintage attire, beards a plenty and a handlebar moustache
The Sheepdogs eased us all into their set. Closing you’re eyes for a second would instantly transport you from the moody red light of the stage, back into what you could mistake
The Wedgewood Rooms to feel like in the 60s.
With a vocal that is clearly from the soul, front man
Ewan Currie holds a guitar like a plastic toy (I’m unsure if he is a distant relative to WWF wrestler
Big John Studd). Alongside
Leot Hanson on guitar,
Ryan Gullen on bass and
Sam Corbett on drums they play
The Beatles meets
The Doors in the deep south with influences of
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Creedance Clearwater Revival and The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Throughout the whole set
The Sheepdogs entice their audience deeper, while at intervals exchanging banter and anecdotes of back home. Tracks ‘
Please Don’t Lead Me On’ and ‘
Learn & Burn’ go down well though the odd shout for
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘
Free Bird’ could be heard on occasions.
Ending their set wasn’t enough for the
ClubNME audience though who chanted for more,
The Sheepdogs then returned to play well known hit ‘
I Don’t Know’ ending with monstrous applause.
It’s clear to see that the sounds that
The Sheepdogs are making are seeping into the current musical climate, with bands like
Alabama Shakes, Howler and
Jack White taking it to the psychedelic euphoric vibe.
For those who attended
The Sheepdogs at
ClubNME Portsmouth will be well aware they have seen something special and it’s only a matter of time before we see them playing bigger shows and festivals in the United Kingdom.
